Lauren's Birthday

Today's my third daughter's birthday! She's all grown up now with four year old Caedmon, and twins, Aldan and Theron, 18 mons. old. But today I remember her as my new baby girl.

When she was born my husband and I couldn't agree on a name - it was so embarrassing to me! Every name I suggested he said no to and every name he suggested I would say no to - they were coming around with the birth certificate and I called him at work and asked him what he thought about Lauren Merrill Adare and he immediately said, "Yes!" We both knew it was right. Merrill had been my maiden name and Lauren just seemed right.

My #2 daughter had been a C-section so Lauren was going to be a C-section and I was having her in a small hospital in Carlisle, Pa. and back in those days they didn't allow the husband in the delivery room with C-sections. The Dr. was a friend of ours and when he came out of the delivery room he told Alex that he was sorry that it was another girl. Well - Alex grabbed him by the front of his scrubs and got in his face and told him not to ever say that he was sorry it was a girl again! The nurses all told me this story - they were so proud of Alex! Lauren was the smallest baby I had at 8 lbs. 4 ozs. - her sister before her had been 11 lbs. 14 ozs. so we treated Lauren as though she was a preemie - I still laugh to myself about that!

Lauren was my first baby that I was able to have an actual decorated baby's room. It was a small room in an old house - maybe it had been a "sewing room" - but I loved it and it was perfect for her. We painted it "Winnie-the-Pooh" yellow with white trim - Sears had a crib, curtains, bumpers, sheets, lamp, hamper, and blankets all in "Winnie-the-Pooh" theme and we had it all for her. The room had two windows that looked out the front of the house and one on the other wall so it was always light and airy and mostly sunny.

When I took her to the doctor for her check up when she was almost one year old I told the doctor how she wasn't even trying to walk and I was concerned (my first daughter had walked when she was almost 10 mons. old - not that I wanted that again!) The doctor examined her and told me to go home and tell everyone they weren't allowed to pick her up - her two older sisters, Kristen and Heather. I soon realized that the reason she wasn't walking was because her sisters were carrying her everywhere and once we put a stop to that she was walking within a week.

I am blessed to have four wonderful daughters and each one is different and each one has so many special qualities. I admire Lauren because she lived through some really hard times that we had as a family financially and was able to accomplish graduating from Liberty University working very early in the morning at a bakery. Her sisters supported her in many ways, especially one time when Alex and I wouldn't give her permission to live off campus, they wrote or called the school supporting her desire to rent a house with other girls and got permission from the school.

Lauren is now a work in progress becoming a "Proverbs 31" woman - as a woman who loves the Lord and looks for ways to put her faith into action, wife, mother, keeper of the home, and marathon runner. I love you precious Lauren!